Small businesses and households that subscribe to a single telephone line (i.e., that are reachable via a single directory number) typically have a plurality of telephones connected to the single telephone line. When a call is placed to the small business or household via a telephony network (e.g., by dialing the directory number), all telephones ring contemporaneously, allowing any member of the small business or household to answer the call.
If members of the small business or household wish to call one another, a different system must be used. For example, individuals may utilize a point-to-point communication system that acts as a local network among employees of the small business or residents of the household. However, this represents an additional technology maintenance responsibility and cost burden for the household or small business.
A private branch exchange (PBX) or key system is another solution for allowing members of the small business or household to communicate with one another by dialing “extensions”. However, calls placed from the telephony network to the small business or household will also need to pass through the PBX or key system, at which point the caller needs to identify the specific extension to which to direct the call. This is an inconvenience for the caller and, in the case of a small business, it may lead to lost revenue as it may dissuade people from calling.
Thus, there remains a need in the industry to provide a technological solution that allows members of a small business or household to share a common subscriber line from the perspective of the telephony network, while also allowing the members to reach one another with ease.